FAQs

First do an audit of what you need and what you already have or can access that will help you teach your course

• What supplies do you have available to you?

• Do you have wifi, a laptop, a phone?

• If you don’t have a laptop or desktop, please contact your department chair so that they can submit a request for you.

• Attend one of the TLC workshops on remote teaching. Schedule is available on the Dashboard (my.otis.edu) under Approaching Deadlines.

• Look for emails from your Chair or Assistant Chair who will provide specific direction for your program.

• Start to develop a plan for finishing the semester by teaching remotely. Reach out to your Chair, Assistant Chair and other faculty to share ideas.

• Attend one of the webinars about getting ready to take classes online. Dates, times and zoom links are listed on the Dashboard (my.otis.edu) under Approaching Deadlines.

• Communicate with your department chairs and assistant chairs if you haven't done so already (most of you have).  Let them know how it's going as you move your courses on-line.  Do you need help?  Let your chair/assistant chair know, and let Jean-Marie Venturini know at jventurini@otis.edu - she has lots of ideas to share.

• Connect with your students if you haven't already. Check in about how they are doing.  Say hello.  Let them know how you will communicate as a class once the course resumes.  

The TLC Workshop - "Going Online with Instruction" is available to watch online for those unable to attend any of the workshop sessions.

Part 1: Instructional Continuity - provides an overview of what to consider making this transition and examples of how to organize your class online.

Part 2: Going Online Tools - focuses on how to use the recommended tools to communicate with your students and share content. The tools include email, O-Space, the Nest (first year classes only), G-Drive and Zoom.

https://otis.libguides.com/tlc/going_online

• The Teaching/Learning site is up and is loaded lots of information, including a list of upcoming workshops, to help you move your courses on-line.  You can attend these workshops via ZOOM.  Here is the schedule for this week.  Contact Jean-Marie Venturini at jventurini@otis.edu for more info and for a ZOOM link.

• The COVID-19 Hub is where all up-to-date official announcements and information from the College can be found, as well as FAQs.

• Don’t assume students are on email all the time—or at all. Explicitly establish a shared expectation about when and where students should check for announcements or other communications.

• You will be using Otis email, the Nest, or O-Space as your main communication platforms.

• Do an initial check in with students to make sure students are receiving your communications.

• If you are at all comfortable, use O-space or the Nest announcements to communicate with the whole class for the most effective results. The announcements will be collected all in one place as well as emailed out through these vehicles. If you are not comfortable with the Nest or O-space, then of course, use email.

We are working on a revised attendance policy for remote course instruction and will post that here soon.

Yes, through the end of March. After that, access may be difficult. If you need access after the end of March, please contact Interim Provost Kim Russo at krusso@otis.edu

If students need access after that March 20th, please ask them to contact Interim Provost Kim Russo at krusso@otis.edu

Yes, although we can’t guarantee their safety. Students should remove items of value or importance whenever possible.

Students who are having financial hardship should call or email the One Stop and fill out a hardship form.

Students who do not have a laptop or desktop at home should contact the Helpdesk at helpdesk@otis.edu or call 310-665-6803.

Students who are having difficulty accessing online tools (student email, O-space or the Nest, Zoom or G-drive) should fill out this form: https://otiscollege.formstack.com/forms/online_content

Students who need wifi should consider these options:

• Charter and Comcast announced Friday that they will offer 60 days of complimentary broadband to homes with K-12 or college students in Los Angeles. (Installation is required, so try to get this set up quickly.)

• To enroll for Charter's service, call 844-488-8395; for Comcast's, 855-846-8376 for English speakers or 855-765-6995 for Spanish speakers, or go to www.internetessentials.com.

• Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.

Students who are having difficulty with on-line tools:

• Students having difficulty accessing online tools should fill out this form: https://otiscollege.formstack.com/forms/online_content

• Help is available specifically for O-Space through the Student Learning Center slc@otis.edu , Teaching Learning Center tlc@otis.edu , and Help desk helpdesk@otis.edu.

• Help is available for the Nest through 24/7 online support: https://community.brightspace.com/helpdesk/s/

The deadline to withdraw from a course has been changed to Friday, April 10. Please keep that date in mind as you move through the end of the semester. Notify your Chair, and the student through an Academic Alert, if you recommend withdrawal due to the high likelihood of failure.

Several software providers are generously offering free software licenses available for use from your personal computer in order to help you complete your class requirements for the remainder of the Spring semester. Some like Adobe Creative Cloud require activation through Otis by emailing support@otis.edu, others are available as free trial downloads directly from the vendor. Please follow these instructions.

WeChat is a social networking app widely used in China. It allows users to host video calls, and send text messages, photos, audio and video files for free. About one billion people around the world use WeChat.

WeChat is a great way to communicate with students in China who may have difficulty accessing Otis email. You can set up a group chat for all of your students and use this chat to send video files, photos, and to answer questions. When setting up a WeChat account for the first time you need to be verified by an existing user (any of your students using WeChat should be able to verify you), or connect your WeChat account to a Facebook account that uses your mobile number.

For complete instructions on how to use Zoom, see the TLC (Teaching Learning Center) page on video conferencing: https://otis.libguides.com/tech_help/web-conf